Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional and virtually still 'as new' example of this original southern California owner 1990 Volkswagen 4WD Synchro Westfalia Full Camper with the 'pop-top' roof with opening skylight (2 double beds sleeps 4-2 up and 2 down) with the highly desirable factory options including; 2.1L 4 cylinder fuel injection engine, a 4 speed manual transmission, air conditioning, power rack and pinion steering, power front disc and rear drum brakes, independent front suspension, front and rear telescopic shock absorbers, electric rear window defroster, power mirrors, power windows, 2 gas stoves, refrigerator, sink, rear compartment heater, tinted glass, 2 folding picnic tables, front swivel captain chairs, lots of storage space, folding rear convertible bench seat/bed with storage locker underneath, rear deck mattress (to complete bed make-up), digital clock and tachometer, full drapes and all it's original dealership manuals and all dealer service records. This rare model is one of only 1,500 full campers ever sold in the US and they are extremely desirable and sought after with a renown cult following. To find such an example, in extremely rare all stock condition, and with only one southern California owner since new with only 60K original miles and always VW dealer serviced with all service records from new is truly a remarkable find !
Purchased new by its original and only southern California owner and always serviced on schedule and as required at 'Santa Monica VW', the Volkswagen dealership of Santa Monica, CA and 'Buerge VW', the VW dealership of Culver City, CA. The original factory color paint is in excellent condition and the all original and stock interior is in truly outstanding condition throughout - must be as clean as they come and the vehicle itself drives magnificently! The engine purrs like a kitten and the transmission shifts smoothly through the gears. There are no noticeable oil leaks and the temperature always remains cool.
Produced in Germany and sold in the U.S. from 1986 to 1991, the Syncro Vanagon was a four-wheel-drive version of the standard boxy 1980's Vanagon and what was already exceedingly rare is now rarer still, and even rarer are the camper models — the fully outfitted pop-top version made by Westfalia in Germany. The Syncro has a military-inspired undercarriage and a jacked-up drive train with a special gear for climbing hills; on the camper models attachments fold out, slide out and pop up to create sleeping space.
For those unfamiliar with a VW Syncro, here are the basics; they are 4wd versions of the common VW Vanagon and were imported in small numbers from 1985-1991 to North America. Their bodies were built by VW but their drive train, suspension and AWD system were made by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, a company known throughout the off-road community for building the Mercedes Unimogs, G Wagons, numerous military troop transports and tanks.
No one, not even Volkswagen, seems to know for sure, but hard-core 'Syncronauts' estimate that only about 5,000 Syncros - 1,500 campers and 3,500 passenger vans - were sold in the United States. As Christian Bokich, a brand marketing strategist at Volkswagen and Thomas Niksch, a mechanical engineer who runs a German Syncro enthusiasts' Web site (www.syncro16.de), tell the story, the Syncro was both behind and ahead of its time. At $18,000, the camper model was expensive for 1986 and it was complicated to manufacture and Volkswagen was concentrating at that time on building a new minivan. The company was loath even to promote the Syncro not withstanding magazines like 'Car and Driver' gave it glowing reviews.
The Syncro's origins go back to the late 1970's when two Volkswagen engineers, dreaming of a vehicle they could use to camp and travel to remote places like the Sahara desert, built some prototypes. In the mid-1980's, Steyr-Daimler-Puch, manufacturer of a legendary military off-road vehicle called the 'Pinzgauer', teamed up with Volkswagen to design and manufacture the Syncro. They were about $5,000 more expensive because of added equipment and the shipping of specialty parts. Due to the extra weight, they were also fairly slow. However, they are highly sought after for their utility today. It has been said that they are just big enough. Two people can sleep in one and parallel park it in the city with ease. A vibrant community and aftermarket exists to support 'Syncronauts' and their machines.
In many ways, it was a groundbreaking ground pounder. An independently suspended four-wheel-drive system gave it excellent ground clearance and kept all four wheels planted in challenging terrain. A locking system gave it tank-like traction by preventing any one wheel from breaking free and spinning. A viscous coupler, now a common device, automatically engaged the four-wheel-drive in response to any slippage in the rear wheels. Many of the inventions found in the Syncro have since made their way into vehicles like the Subaru Outback and Volkswagen's own new S.U.V., the Touareg.
But it was the rare camper model that truly distinguished the Syncro. In it you could keep food fresh in a small refrigerator, cook it on a two-burner stove, wash the dishes in a stainless-steel sink with water from a 13-gallon tank, store gear in a series of cabinets and sleep four people comfortably. The little-known Syncro camper was a back-country mobile home, the ultimate expression of a sport utility vehicle before the term was even coined.
The Internet has not only coalesced the thinly spread community of Syncro zealots, but created a viable market for Syncro parts. Today, you can buy any Syncro part online, including oversized South African VW wheels and improved suspension components from Australia. You can even swap the engine for a more powerful VW turbodiesel or a Subaru Outback powerplant. To find an unmodified all stock example is actually extraordinarily rare today.
Car people love to talk about collector cars that have a cult following. But no vehicle is as cultish and as the elusive Volkswagen Syncro. Essentially a 4WD Volkswagen T-3 Vanagon, the Syncro tears at the heartstrings of those who have been bitten by the bug. Just to be clear, a large number of people have been bitten by the Syncro bug; far more than there are Syncros to go around. You can still find them, but they are rare in the USA with only some 5,000 imported to the US and reportedly only some 1,500 full campers and to find a completely original all stock and unmodified example with such low miles and only one southern California owner since new like this particular example is quite simply, as any true enthusiast will confirm, virtually unheard of!
This is therefore very likely one of the rarest and definitely finest available example's anywhere of this conveniently sized and legendary mobile bus/camper, which are no longer in production and therefore becoming increasingly desirable and harder to find in such fine unmolested and all stock condition!
Owned and driven since new by this one obviously very careful and mature non-smoking driver - obviously never abused and without the typical bus/camper odors or stains - an obviously hardly ever used for camping example with no rust or accidents whatsoever! Turn key ready, you will look long and hard to find a finer example available of this increasingly desirable and very rare last year Volkswagen 4WD Synchro Westfalia full camper anywhere!
